Hartselle teenager creates Little Libraries as Eagle Scout project
Published 9:33 pm Sunday, October 18, 2020
Colton Tucker said he has always enjoyed reading – as a child he could always be found with a book in his hand. So, when it came time for the Hartselle teenager to choose a project to become an Eagle Scout, a Little Library was a no–brainer.
Tucker said he first saw the idea on a family vacation in Georgia a couple of years ago, and he knew right away he wanted to see a similar book box in his hometown.
The Hartselle High School junior has been involved in the Boy Scouts of America since he was in the first grade, and his father Chris is the scout master of Hartselle’s local troop.
Tucker went through multiple phases to have his project approved – through the Boy Scouts at the local and district level and through the City of Hartselle. He said it took the Scouts more than 200 work hours to design, build and install the two boxes, which are located at the pocket park downtown and at the SNAP playground at the Hartselle Aquatic Center.
“In the book boxes, we have two shelves,” Tucker said. “We stocked the bottom shelf with mostly children’s books. That way they would be able to reach them better. On the top shelf there are books for older people – chapter books, that sort of thing.”
Tucker said all of the books that stock both of the book boxes were donated by his fellow Scouts. “I asked for the donations about a month before we got to work on the boxes,” he said. “Some would bring books every Tuesday night when we would have our meetings.”
Tucker said the goal is for the book boxes to be self-sufficient. “People can read the books while they are at the location, or they can take them home,” he said. “People can also take a book and leave a book. Some people might not have access to books, so they are welcome to take them.”
The materials to build the boxes were donated to Troop 92 by Lowe’s of Hartselle, and Tucker said he’s grateful for the support. “They helped us a lot,” he said.
The 16-year-old now has one board review before he is an Eagle Scout.
He is the son of Chris and Amy Tucker of Hartselle.
